Train Books

I blogged a whole big piece on this subject the other day. I mean it was mammoth – with bells, whistles and links. Then someone distracted me and I shut the browser down before I’d posted it! ARSE! But for your reading delight I will attempt to recount the aforementioned rant about train books…

Over the past few years I have become aware of a new phenomenon that is sweeping public transport systems across this fair city, possibly across the country and probably across the globe. The train book.
Now I’m not sure if this is the official name for this peculiarity of the underground so if it’s not then it is now and I coined it!
For the uninitiated the train book is one that is read by everyone on the train without exception. If you get on the train with another book that you are presently reading you are then obliged to visit your local WHSmith/Waterstones/Border/Amazon (other book shops are available) and purchase this book.
Examples of past ‘Train Books’ (see… I think this is catching on now) are ‘The Beach‘ by Alex Garland, ‘White Teeth‘ By Zadie Smith and possibly the whole Harry Potter series (bring on book 6 in July!).

So I was thinking… who starts these crazes? Who are the leaders in book fashion. Do they give them away for free at certain stations like Metro? Can I develop the idea of the ‘Train Book’ to make it more friendly and interactive. To have some sort of community element to it… I think I can. Perhaps with the assistance of my readers, both of them, we can encourage a new breed of ‘Train Book’. It doesn’t have to be a new release but it does have to have a certain special something and here are my suggestions. You will need to visit your local or online bookstore (as reccomended above) and purchase the following…
The Mr Men Library Bus
or
The Little Miss Library Bus

Quality classic literature! Ok the idea behind this is simple… You take a book on the train. It’s short and fun and can be read in one journey. Believe me I know, I read one a night to the eldest little menace! Anyway, once you have finished the book, you search the carriage for one you have yet to read and you swap your Mr Man with their Little Miss and there you have it. So the theory is that you take a different book from your collection everyday and don’t stop until you have read both libraries and replenished your boxes. You will suddenly be friends with all your travelling companions and have an in depth knowledge of all the villages where the Mr Men and Little Miss’s live, which, I can tell you, is and invaluable skill.
So off you go then. This is the new thing, this is the new Train Book sensation!

By the way, I am not being sponsored to mention the names of the book stored named in this article, but I would recommend visiting this one and buying something from my wish list!!

Oddly, the original post appeared on my desktop for no apparent reason today so I thought I’d post it here…

Can we start a new craze? Someone has to do it, why can’t it be me and my readers (mrdamian and Markus Randall)!
Currently from my in depth research this book is the train book of the moment. Yes ‘The Da Vinci Code’. I have not, as yet, read this particular tome. It is presently sitting on Mrs Menaces bedside table waiting for her to read it. I will forgive her this unfortunate moment of bandwagoning as she is not a regular train traveller.
Past train books have included:
The Beach
White Teeth
and a variety of Harry Potter Books.

Having recently become a father for the second time these are some of the books I’d like to recommend as the next big train books. I’m thinking accessibility, ease of storage, swapping among your fellow travellers – something that would bring an element of community to your local tube or train.

Try these for size…
The Mr Men Library Bus
The Little Miss Library Bus